In
Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

By
Anonymous User
on
11-23-17

A Mind at Play

How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

By:
Rob Goodman,
Jimmy Soni

Narrated by:
Jonathan Yen

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
268

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
238

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
236

Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.

3 out of 5 stars

Book is fine. Reader is annoyiing

By
Pinot
on
05-21-18

The Book of Why

The New Science of Cause and Effect

By:
Judea Pearl,
Dana Mackenzie

Narrated by:
Mel Foster

Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
108

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
93

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
94

"Correlation does not imply causation". This mantra has been invoked by scientists for decades and has led to a virtual prohibition on causal talk. But today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution, sparked by Judea Pearl and his colleagues, has cut through a century of confusion and placed causality - the study of cause and effect - on a firm scientific basis.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book! Not a great audiobook.

By
rrwright
on
05-30-18

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge

By:
Edward O. Wilson

Narrated by:
Jonathan Hogan

Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
26

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.

A Most Elegant Equation

Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics

By:
David Stipp

Narrated by:
Sean Pratt

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
56

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
53

Story

4 out of 5 stars
53

Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.

4 out of 5 stars

Good and Simple

By
Christopher Alexander Teale Maldonado
on
04-16-18

The Last Man Who Knew Everything

The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age

By:
David N. Schwartz

Narrated by:
Tristan Morris

Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
117

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
106

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
105

In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything - at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Book About An Important Scientist

By
John
on
01-17-18

Significant Figures

The Lives and Work of Great Mathematicians

By:
Ian Stewart

Narrated by:
Roger Clark

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
60

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
50

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
50

In
Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

By
Anonymous User
on
11-23-17

A Mind at Play

How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

By:
Rob Goodman,
Jimmy Soni

Narrated by:
Jonathan Yen

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
268

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
238

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
236

Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.

3 out of 5 stars

Book is fine. Reader is annoyiing

By
Pinot
on
05-21-18

The Book of Why

The New Science of Cause and Effect

By:
Judea Pearl,
Dana Mackenzie

Narrated by:
Mel Foster

Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
108

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
93

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
94

"Correlation does not imply causation". This mantra has been invoked by scientists for decades and has led to a virtual prohibition on causal talk. But today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution, sparked by Judea Pearl and his colleagues, has cut through a century of confusion and placed causality - the study of cause and effect - on a firm scientific basis.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book! Not a great audiobook.

By
rrwright
on
05-30-18

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge

By:
Edward O. Wilson

Narrated by:
Jonathan Hogan

Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
26

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.

A Most Elegant Equation

Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics

By:
David Stipp

Narrated by:
Sean Pratt

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
56

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
53

Story

4 out of 5 stars
53

Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.

4 out of 5 stars

Good and Simple

By
Christopher Alexander Teale Maldonado
on
04-16-18

The Last Man Who Knew Everything

The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age

By:
David N. Schwartz

Narrated by:
Tristan Morris

Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
117

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
106

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
105

In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything - at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Book About An Important Scientist

By
John
on
01-17-18

Scale

The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life, in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies

By:
Geoffrey West

Narrated by:
Bruce Mann

Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
585

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
513

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
509

Visionary physicist Geoffrey West is a pioneer in the field of complexity science, the science of emergent systems and networks. The term
complexity can be misleading, however, because what makes West's discoveries so beautiful is that he has found an underlying simplicity that unites the seemingly complex and diverse phenomena of living systems, including our bodies, our cities, and our businesses.

5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and clear enough for a lib arts major

By
kwdayboise (Kim Day)
on
05-29-17

The Runaway Species

How Human Creativity Remakes the World

By:
David Eagleman,
Anthony Brandt

Narrated by:
Mauro Hantman

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
40

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
37

Story

4 out of 5 stars
36

Our ability to remake our world is unique among all living things. But where does our creativity come from, how does it work, and how can we harness it to improve our lives, schools, businesses, and institutions?
The Runaway Species is a deep-dive into the creative mind, a celebration of the human spirit, and a vision of how we can improve our future by understanding and embracing our ability to innovate. Composer Anthony Brandt and neurologist David Eagleman seek to discover what lies at the heart of humanity's ability - and drive - to create.

4 out of 5 stars

great discovery, this app!

By
marianna bolog
on
02-10-18

How Democracies Die

By:
Steven Levitsky,
Daniel Ziblatt

Narrated by:
Fred Sanders

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
817

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
735

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
735

Donald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang--in a revolution or military coup--but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms.

5 out of 5 stars

Connecting the Dots

By
S.F.
on
02-06-18

The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

By:
Daniel N. Robinson,
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Daniel N. Robinson

Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,397

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,248

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,219

Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.

4 out of 5 stars

A Hard Review to Write

By
Ark1836
on
11-20-15

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

By:
Thomas S. Kuhn

Narrated by:
Dennis Holland

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
691

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
451

Story

4 out of 5 stars
440

A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were - and still are.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book.

5 out of 5 stars

Important - not only for science

By
Mirek
on
07-05-09

Words and Rules

The Ingredients of Language

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
106

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
91

Story

4 out of 5 stars
95

First published in 2000,
Words and Rules remains one of Pinker's most provocative and accessible books, illuminating the fascinating relationship between the brain, the mind, and how language makes us humans.

5 out of 5 stars

Amazing how much irregular verbs can teach.

By
Tristan
on
04-10-16

Democracy in Chains

The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

By:
Nancy MacLean

Narrated by:
Bernadette Dunne

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
522

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
468

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
465

Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.

What are time and space made of? Where does matter come from? And what exactly is reality? Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli has spent his whole life exploring these questions and pushing the boundaries of what we know. Here he explains how our image of the world has changed over the last few dozen centuries.

5 out of 5 stars

Most compelling physics book in at least 10 years!

By
Kyle
on
02-03-17

Collapse

How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

By:
Jared Diamond

Narrated by:
Michael Prichard

Length: 27 hrs and 2 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
625

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
562

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
555

In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning
Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion, and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization. Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some found solutions and persisted.

5 out of 5 stars

So Many Ways to Die Like a Viking

By
Vicky
on
02-06-18

Algorithms to Live By

The Computer Science of Human Decisions

By:
Brian Christian,
Tom Griffiths

Narrated by:
Brian Christian

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
9,402

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,138

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,075

All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favorites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not: computers, too, face the same constraints, so computer scientists have been grappling with their version of such problems for decades.

3 out of 5 stars

Beware non-techies

By
Amazon Customer
on
10-11-16

Why Information Grows

The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies

By:
César Hidalgo

Narrated by:
Stephen Hoye

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
255

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
219

Story

4 out of 5 stars
216

What is economic growth? And why, historically, has it occurred in only a few places? Previous efforts to answer these questions have focused on institutions, geography, finances, and psychology. But according to MIT's anti-disciplinarian César Hidalgo, understanding the nature of economic growth demands transcending the social sciences and including the natural sciences of information, networks, and complexity. To understand the growth of economies, Hidalgo argues, we first need to understand the growth of order.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

By
bpjammin
on
01-07-17

Your Brain Is a Time Machine

The Neuroscience and Physics of Time

By:
Dean Buonomano

Narrated by:
Aaron Abano

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
114

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
98

Story

4 out of 5 stars
99

In
Your Brain Is a Time Machine, brain researcher and best-selling author Dean Buonomano draws on evolutionary biology, physics, and philosophy to present his influential theory of how we tell and perceive time. The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological flow and enables "mental time travel" - simulations of future and past events.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book on an underrated subject

By
Neuron
on
05-09-17

Publisher's Summary

Boolean algebra, also called Boolean logic, is at the heart of the electronic circuitry in everything we use - from our computers and cars, to our kitchen gadgets and home appliances. How did a system of mathematics established in the Victorian era become the basis for such incredible technological achievements a century later? In The Logician and the Engineer, best-selling popular math writer Paul Nahin combines engaging problems and a colorful historical narrative to tell the remarkable story of how two men in different eras - mathematician and philosopher George Boole (1815-1864) and electrical engineer and pioneering information theorist Claude Shannon (1916-2001) - advanced Boolean logic and became founding fathers of the electronic communications age.

Presenting the dual biographies of Boole and Shannon, Nahin examines the history of Boole's innovative ideas, and considers how they led to Shannon's groundbreaking work on electrical relay circuits and information theory. Along the way, Nahin presents logic problems for listeners to solve and talks about the contributions of such key players as Georg Cantor, Tibor Rado, and Marvin Minsky - as well as the crucial role of Alan Turing's "Turing machine" - in the development of mathematical logic and data transmission. Nahin takes listeners from fundamental concepts to a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of how a modern digital machine such as the computer is constructed. Nahin also delves into the newest ideas in quantum mechanics and thermodynamics in order to explore computing's possible limitations in the 21st century and beyond.

The Logician and the Engineer shows how a form of mathematical logic and the innovations of two men paved the way for the digital technology of the modern world.

Boolean Algebra

This is a book that would have been better if I read it instead of listen or it would be a good book for the e-book with whisper-sync. It was a bit hard to follow unless I took notes. Paul Nahin covered the innovative ideas and history of mathematician George Boole (1815-1864) and electrical engineer Claude Shannon (1918-2001). The book explained classic logic vs Boolean logic in depth. He also covered how Boolean algebra is the bases of electronic circuitry that everything today works on. He covered a great deal on data transmission and its importance in day to day live. The world would not function without this innovated body of work. Allan Robertson did a good job narrating the book.

Translate equations into sentences or don't read them

Please don't read long & involved equations - it's impossible to follow when the speaker clearly has no idea what it's about. Things like Dot dot dot! It's like spelling out the letters in a word instead of saying that same word.